HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TO THE SEATBELT!

       Yep, the three-point seatbelt found in our cars is 50 years old this month, thanks to Swede Nils Bohlin, a Volvo car engineer.
       Mr Bohlin had found that the existing two-point lap belt only helped to prevent the occupant from being slingshot through the windscreen, but could not stop serious back injury or banging against the inside of the car.
       So he devised a way to anchor one piece of fabric belt to not only secure the hips to the seat but hold the occupant's upper body in place by inventing a new anchorage point on the car's central pillar (aka B-pillar).
       Mr Bohlin proposed to Volvo that the company install his invention as a standard safety feature in all of their passenger cars, before the practice became the worldwide industry standard for front seat occupants.
       It took another eight years for the three-point seat belt to be fitted in the rear seats of Volvos and another two years before the inertia-reel type that we use today became standard for the front seat.
       Many cars' front seatbelts today have further safety enhancements such as pre-tensioners,where a device senses a frontal crash and triggers the belt mechanics to instantly pull the belts tight to minimise injury.
       Is there any more that can be done to improve seat belts?Yes, you might notice that all race cars have four (two shoulder straps and two lap straps)or even six-point seatbelts (like the four-pointer but with two crotch straps) these types firmly hold the body in place.
       The less the body moves, the less likely it is to sustain injury in a crash.Of course, road cars need to have some slack and freedom of movement so that the wearer is happy travelling, while still being equipped with devices that automatically secure occupants in dangerous moments.
       So, don't be surprised if the next generation of seat belts has four straps.The only questions are whether they come in the normal H-pattern or an X-pattern, and who will put them in a production car first?
       NEXT SUNDAY inDrive : an independent car service network knows how to service your car.Watch my electric Mini E video clip on youtube.com/wiwatchang Emails go to brunchdrive@gmail.com and my tweets are on twitter.com/wiwatchang
       LIFE SAVER: Nils Bohlin,inventor of the three-point safety belt.